


All's Fair

by kooili



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, F/F, Holby Halloween Monster Mash 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27299785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kooili/pseuds/kooili
Summary: Aphrodite and Ares are bickering about who gets to plan the annual Hallow's Eve Gala, and Zeus has had it up to here. What they need is a little competition, and he has just the couple to test their respective mettles.Enter Serena Campbell and Bernie Wolfe. Will it be love or war?
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39
Collections: Holby Halloween Monster Mash 2020





	All's Fair

“No, absolutely not. I’m organising the Hallow’s Eve gala and we’re going to do it my way!”

The words rang sharply round the marbled walls and columns, the gleam of the polished surfaces not coming remotely close to the fire in her eyes.

“Yes,” the figure curled up on a stone chair answered. “But I thought we could try something different this year.” He stretched, uncoiling himself before rising to his feet in one smooth motion. “Your galas, as pleasant as they are, have always been a bit...” He paused as if searching for an elusive word, “saccharine.”

“It’s called creating an ambience. Besides, I’ve never had any complaints. Isn’t that right, father?” Aphrodite turned and looked at the imposing figure on the large marble throne. 

Zeus sighed quietly before smiling at his daughter. “No complaints my dear. But your brother is keen to try his hand on something less destructive and…”

His words were cut off. “And you’ve been such an inspiration, dear sister. I was hoping to pay homage to your good work. With my personal touch, of course.” 

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “If I know you, Ares, your touch would involve fire and blood.” 

Ares’s mouth stretched into a grin. “And a good amount of leather.” He reached out and thumbed the fabric trailing from her dress. “Leather has much more character than this wispy, floaty nothing.”

“You wouldn’t be happy unless everything went up in a ball of flames!” She flicked his hand away. 

“Ooh, fire balls… must add that to the list!” Ares replied with glee. 

“You leave the gala alone or else!” Aphrodite turned towards him, a warning look on her face. 

“Or else what? You’ll get that son of yours to ping heart shaped toy arrows at me?” 

“Oh I’ll be doing that myself and they’ll be very real ones. In fact, I know just the place I’d like to shove them into.”

They were now practically nose to nose, neither prepared to give any quarter. Zeus sighed again, more loudly and deeply this time. “Children, children…don’t forget your place and station. You are deities and should not be acting like petty mortals.” 

Aphrodite huffed. “Keep him out of my way and there won’t be a problem.”

“And I’d be happy to,” Ares ran a hand through his hair, slicking his fringe back, “if I could go back to my usual business of wreaking havoc elsewhere.”

Both sets of eyes landed on Zeus expectedly. The damage from Ares’s last encounter with the humans had taken weeks to undo and a period of peace on Earth would not go amiss. This, however, wasn’t a problem that would just disappear with a wave of a thunderbolt - it was going to take something a little more creative. “How about a bit of a competition? The winner will get to run the gala and the loser will promise not to interfere.”

There was a guarded silence before Aphrodite spoke up. “What did you have in mind, father?

* * *

Aphrodite tugged at the sleeve of her top for the umpteenth time. “I still don’t understand why we couldn’t just stay invisible. Or transfigure into something less obvious - like a dove, for instance.”

“We could,” Ares replied, pausing to check his reflection on the window of a parked car, “but we’d miss out on the opportunity to try out this fabulous human clothing. This cut shows off my biceps well, don’t you think?” He turned to his sister who ignored him and carried on walking towards the large sign marking the entrance to the sprawling building just beyond it.

“Is this the place then?” she asked. “Holby City Hospital.”

Ares nodded. “And our quarry seems to be waiting for us. Right on time.” 

Aphrodite followed the direction of Ares’s gaze and regarded the couple critically. “Hardly a challenge. Is this the best you could come up with, brother?”

“Don’t let their outward appearance deceive you. She,” he pointed at the dark-haired woman, peering under the bonnet of a car, “is a descendent of Dionysus and the other one is from the line of Pentheus.”

“Oh,” Aphrodite’s eyes widened momentarily. “That was one relationship that did not end well. Still, all I have to do is snap my fingers and they’ll fall in love and live happily ever after.”

Ares shook a finger and tutted. “Did you forget that we can’t use our powers that way while we’re down here? It’d be so much easier just to make them fight each other to the death,” he sighed dramatically. “But that would be too easy according to father. So, we can nudge them apart…”

“Together, you mean,” Aphrodite interrupted. 

“Let’s just agree to disagree,” Ares continued. “We can influence them by changing the environment around them but no magic potions of war or love.”

“Very well, then.” She tugged her brother by the arm, leading him towards a bench with a perfect view of the car park. “Let’s bring them together and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

* * *

“Ah, you must be Berenice Wolfe! I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Bernie smiled, twirling the unlit cigarette between her fingers. She wasn’t sure why she had it in her hand - she’d given up smoking ages ago - or why she was drawn in the direction of the woman who clearly knew who she was. “News still travels fast in the NHS, I see.”

Serena smiled and wiped her fingers on the piece of rag in her hands. “Some things never change.” She looked the woman up and down and decided that her HR photo didn’t do her justice. “How are you finding things up on Keller?”

The silence that greeted her was long enough that Serena was almost going to repeat herself when Bernie spoke. “It’s different. But then again, everything is different and new at the moment. I expect I’ll settle in soon enough.”

“One thing’s for sure,” Serena replied, “it won’t be boring. Not quite as exciting as dodging bullets in a war zone but interesting nonetheless.” She waved a hand to prove her point and the rag flew out of her grasp and straight into Bernie’s face. Serena gasped in horror and lunged forward to retrieve oil-soaked cloth but the momentum carried her a little further than she expected and she found herself tottering on the brink of falling over. She was saved from the embarrassing ordeal by a strong pair of arms holding on to her by the waist.

“Thank you,” Serena stammered, regaining her balance. Her head was still swirling a little from the near miss and having a beautiful woman holding her close was not helping keep her senses clear. Not helping, but certainly more than welcome. Serena was in no rush to detach herself from her saviour’s grasp.

Bernie lips curled into a smile. “You’re more than welcome. I don’t usually have women swoon into my arms until I know their name, at least.”

Serena blinked, a flush of heat rising up her chest and colouring the tip of her cheeks as they pulled apart. “Serena Campbell.”

“Serena,” Bernie repeated, rolling the word in her mouth, deciding she liked the sound of it a lot. “I see you’re having problems with your alternator. Maybe I can give you a hand…”

The women leaned forward together, shoulders touching as they peered under the open bonnet. As she watched from afar, Aphrodite’s face lit up in delight. “See what a little friendly encouragement can do?” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Ares huffed. “Anyone can do _friendly_ ,” he said, waving a hand in the direction of the two women. “The rules are they have to kiss and fall in love by the end of the week, or I win.”

Aphrodite smiled confidently, her eyes watching intently as the women, who were now walking away from the car together, became engrossed in deep conversation. “I won’t need a whole week. You’ll be back playing your war games before you know it.”

* * *

“No, this is my surgery and I decide what the treatment plan is!”

Serena’s face hardened. Fletch and Raf took a collective step backwards, only too familiar with what was coming next. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as she rose from her chair and rounded the desk. “Ms Wolfe, need I remind you that this is my ward and what you are proposing is not only unproven but also extremely dangerous?”

Bernie ran a hand through her already messy fringe. “And as I’ve said at least half a dozen times before, it isn’t risky at all. I’ve done it at least twice while I was in Kabul.”

“Well, this isn’t the war zone and we don’t take unnecessary risks when there is a perfectly proven alternative. Mr Self is…”

Bernie snorted. “Guy Self is an arrogant antiquated windbag.” The words left her mouth before she could stop herself, as if someone else were speaking them. 

Serena raised an eyebrow. As much as she was tempted to agree with that frank opinion, Bernie needed to be put back into her place. “Irrespective of your personal opinion, I suggest you find some way of working with him. If you choose to continue working on this case.” 

The words were as hard and sharp as icicles when they landed and, to her credit, Bernie didn’t flinch. If anything, the fire in her eyes burned brighter as she met Serena’s look defiantly. 

“Here it comes,” Raf mumbled under his breath, shrinking a little further back. Fletch stood his ground, determined not to miss what was surely coming up next. He was so engrossed he barely moved away in time as a pair of porters wheeled a covered gurney past.

Bernie was about to snap out her acerbic reply when the sound of the clattering wheels distracted her. The words seemed to evaporate like fog in the sunlight and she found herself staring open-mouthed at Serena, who looked like she was ready for a fight. She racked her mind again, determined to stand her ground but her brilliant retort had disappeared and she had to settle instead for a piercing glare before turning on her heel and striding out of the office.

Fletch let out a small sigh of disappointment and turned to Raf as they both headed back to the nurses' station. “So much for fireworks. A fiver says that she won’t last the week. In fact, Serena will have her back to the locum agency by the end of the day.”

Just round the corner, the covered gurney had been abandoned by its previous custodians who were peeking down the corridor as innocuously as they could. 

“I can’t see them coming back from that,” Ares said, hardly able to keep the smirk out of his voice. “They would have been at each other’s throats if you hadn’t played that last move.”

Aphrodite shrugged. “My prerogative and my move. I probably shouldn’t have wasted it on breaking up an argument but things were getting pretty heated. Well played, brother,” she said begrudgingly.

“And the next move is mine and tomorrow is the last day of the week. You might as well call it quits now and we can go home to Olympus. I like humans well enough, but all of this fried food is giving me indigestion.”

* * *

The gurney clattered through the double doors of the ward, loud footsteps and voices in accompaniment.

“Fletcher, we need a theatre, now.” Bernie’s voice was terse and sharp enough that the nurse picked up the phone to make the appropriate call without asking any questions. 

Serena looked up from her pile of paperwork and frowned. There was a loud commotion and a lot of scrambling about with - she should have guessed - Bernie Wolfe right in the thick of it. She rose to her feet and crossed the ward as quickly as she could without running. “What’s this all about?”

Bernie barely glanced at her, focussing instead on the young woman on the gurney. “Where’s my theatre, Mister Fletcher?”

Serena’s frown deepened and she took a step closer to Bernie. “No one’s getting a theatre until you tell me what’s going on.”

Bernie’s head snapped upwards, her eyes hard as steel. “This woman is going to bleed out in the time it’ll take for me to jump through your bureaucratic hoops. Either help me save her or get out of my way.”

She paused long enough for their eyes to meet and Serena to make up her mind. 

“Fletch, get this patient into theatre one now. Ms Wolfe and I are going to scrub up.”

* * *

“What do you think of my grand finale?” Ares asked, absentmindedly picking at the hem of the surgical scrub top that was his disguise for the day. 

Aphrodite ignored him at first, her attention glued on the scene beyond the glass of the scrub room. The surgery seemed to be going well, both women anticipating each other’s moves wordlessly. Serena and Bernie obviously got along much better when they were working than when they were not. “It’s a clever play, especially coming from you.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ares stopped fiddling with his outfit and narrowed his eyes. 

“Conjuring up this emergency surgery that’s surely going to take some time to complete. With only hours to go before the time is up.”

Ares’s eyes widened as he smirked. “Three hours before you get to declare me the winner. Even if they work miracles and finish with time to spare, there wouldn’t be enough time for them to do anything other than have another argument, perhaps?” 

Aphrodite shrugged. “I’m not quite ready to give up yet, so you might want to put a hold on the ambrosia for now.”

A low snort greeted her remark. Ares pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on. “I’m not even going to bother watching. I think I should take the opportunity to sample some earthly delights since we’re leaving soon. I heard them talking about a drink called coffee and it sounds intriguing.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at him dubiously. “Remember what happened when you tried pizza?”

“I only made a mistake because there were too many ingredients to pick from. Coffee is easy and I believe the only way to have it is strong and hot,” Ares announced. He paused just before leaving the room. “Now, no cheating and making them do heart eyes at each other.”

* * *

“That was a close call,” Serena said, wearily tugging the leopard print cap off her head. “Another half an hour and we would have lost her.”

Bernie stretched, rubbing the small of her back to ease the tension out of it. “If the wound had been half an inch higher, we would have lost her anyway.”

Serena froze, a look of disbelief colouring her face. “You really can’t take a compliment, can you?”

There was genuine confusion in Bernie’s eyes as she looked at Serena. “I was just stating a fact and to be honest…” There was a long pause as she tried to frame the rest of the sentence in her head, “...no, never mind.”

“Oh come on, out with it,” Serena looked round for somewhere to sit and rest her aching feet but finding nothing other than walls and the tiled floor. She sank onto the floor and moaned in relief as she stretched her legs out. “God, that feels so good.”

Bernie stared at her as if she had gone daft. “I, uhm… don’t you have a comfortable chair in your office?” 

Serena chuckled softly. “No, what I have is an office full of paperwork and probably a whole stream of people to deal with once I leave this theatre. It’s quite comfortable here. Join me,” she invited, patting the floor next to her. 

This was a version of Serena that was quite different from what Bernie had been accustomed to all week. A softer, more vulnerable version. But no less attractive. She shook the stray thought away as she lowered herself next to Serena. 

“This is unusual,” she said before quickly adding, “but nice. Gives a different perspective to the room.”

Serena nodded. “The first time I did this was after an exceptionally long and hard surgery. The patient didn’t make it and I was so close to the proverbial edge. Sitting here, looking up at this room made me realise that our job wasn’t to play god. We don’t get to decide who lives and who dies - we just have the opportunity to influence how the dice fall. A little.”

Bernie smiled, staring at a random spot on the wall. “How philosophical.”

“Possibly the wisdom of an exhaustion-laden mind. So, enough about me,” Serena said, turning to face Bernie. “What were you going to be honest about before you stopped yourself?”

Bernie took a deep breath before answering. “I never expected you’d pay me a compliment. We haven’t gotten off on the best foot, and I think I’ve possibly riled or offended most of the senior staff in my week here. It was much less complicated in the Army.”

“Change just takes time. And hand on heart, I’ve not heard a single bad word spoken about you. What I have heard is that you’re an exceptional surgeon.”

Bernie turned and their eyes met. Serena saw a spark of something and smiled as she continued. “A fantastic, fearless doctor. And that is an opinion I happen to agree with.”

Her remark was met with an unexpected reaction. Bernie held up a hand in apology as she choked back a burst of laughter. “I thought you hated my guts. We’ve clashed over everything since we started working together!”

Serena’s eyes darted away for a moment, her cheeks pinking from a surge of heat that seemed to suddenly suffuse her body. “A bit of friction in the right places can be a good thing.” When their eyes met again, the next words slipped out of her mouth effortlessly. “Keeps the juices flowing, don’t you agree?”

The look they now shared drifted past the point of politeness, skipped through friendly interest and left platonic behind somewhere in the far distant horizon. Aphrodite watched, eyes widening in delight as the women inched closer simultaneously, almost imperceptibly for the briefest moment, before they lunged at each other, lips meeting halfway. 

“So, do you want the cappuccino or the macchiato?” Ares asked, entering the room bearing a tray of drinks.

Aphrodite shushed him with a wave of her hand and pointed excitedly at the women, arms now twined around each other as the kiss deepened. Ares blinked and took a step forward, squinting to make sure that his eyes were not deceiving him. 

“Did you cheat and enchant them into falling in love with each other?”

“I,” Aphrodite replied, frostily, “do not cheat. And even if I was so inclined, you saved me the trouble of that particular moral dilemma.”

“Me?” Ares’s voice rose half an octave. “I’ve done nothing but encourage them to disagree and clash for nearly a week!”

“And a marvellous job you’ve done as well brother. As you can see,” Aphrodite said, gesturing towards Bernie and Serena.

Ares felt his heart sink under the bitter weight of defeat. “I don’t understand where I went wrong,” he muttered, shaking his head. 

Aphrodite sighed and put an arm around her brother’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you all about unresolved sexual tension when we get back to Olympus. It is an odd concept but humans seem to react very strongly to it if these two are anything to go by.” Aphrodite peeked into the theatre and even she blushed a little when she realised where Serena had her hand. “I think it’s time we left them alone.”

Ares did not protest as his sister led him out the door. “So, it’ll be your party again this year.”

“I believe that was what we agreed on. And I have the best theme ever… in fact, I’m thinking personalised togas for everyone - make love, not war.”

* * *

“Did you hear something?” Bernie murmured in Serena’s ear.

Serena shook her head wordlessly, her lips distracted by the dip where a collarbone met the sternum. 

Bernie moaned softly as Serena increased the pressure from a light brush of her lips to a gentle suction, and again as she shifted her attention to the pulse point on her neck. It was getting increasingly hard to have any coherent thought let alone speak them out loud but she just about managed. “I thought I heard a man’s voice wailing loudly.”

The sucking stopped and Serena drew back. “I think you might just be hearing things. Or a little paranoid about getting caught?”

A flush rose up Bernie’s neck. “As enjoyable as all of this is, we are still at work.”

Serena glanced at the clock and grinned. “Not as of five minutes ago. I know a place where we can have dinner and some lovely wine.” She rose to her feet and pulled Bernie up after her. 

“And after dinner?” Bernie ventured, keeping a hand on Serena’s waist. She couldn’t seem to stop touching the other woman now that she’d started.

There was a glint in Serena’s eyes as she pondered her answer. “Who knows, you might get lucky. If the gods are smiling on you.”


End file.
